What could be more touching than a widower making the daily trip to visit a little park bench dedicated to the memory of his late wife? How about the fact that every day he makes the trip so he can bring her two small gifts and tell her about his day?

Bud Caldwell, 82, lost his wife 2 years ago. Every day since then, he has made the trip to visit a park bench that he purchased himself and dedicated to his wife, Betty. He visits and shares the events of his day with her and leaves a penny and a daisy for her.

The tokens come from a couple of songs that were meaningful to the couple during the 56 years they spent together. The penny commemorates “Pennies from Heaven” and the daisy is a reminder of the song, “A Daisy A Day” whose lyrics promise one lover will the other a daisy a day and will love the other until the rivers run still and the four winds blow away.

This dedicated love story and sentimentality has not gone unnoticed.

A recent snow storm in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin where Bud lives made getting to his beloved bench a serious hazard. Blocked by snow, the snow and ice-covered walkway became too dangerous for him to traverse on foot. Undaunted, he continued making the trip each day but was forced to stay in his car.

Two park employees who had witnessed the tender-hearted man’s efforts were so moved by his devotion to his departed wife that they made a vow. They promised to keep the walkway to Betty’s bench clear throughout winter so Bud could complete his daily journey.

The story has been picked up by several news stations who have shared it on Facebook. There, thousands of people have been touched by Bud’s devotion to Betty and left words of encouragement and support.

This week the survival status of polar bears was brought to federal courts in order to decide what type of protections should be granted to the species. Previously polar bears were considered threatened which meant that some significant protections were being provided and the federal judge overseeing the hearing decided this week that the protection should continue and as a result extended the threatened status.

According to the judge the primary reason for polar bears being listed as threatened is the quickly disappearing ecosystems which the polar bears live in. Because of the speed at which the ice is melting in many areas polar bears are struggling to adapt or survive and are being granted some special protections by the government in order to help them survive in some way.

The exact details of what protections are offered are somewhat difficult to understand though the basis is that environmental damage is restricted in areas with polar bear populations. Some polar bear activists hoped that they would be upgraded to endangered in order to create even stricter environmental rules in the area but for now they are happy to see that the threatened status has been retained. The current policy for polar bear protection does explicitly state that certain power plants and other planned improvements cannot be stopped but otherwise environmental activists are hopeful that the polar bear’s current state of protection will eventually help to prevent further damage to various areas in which they often reside.